Excavating-machine.



CLAUDE E. NEGEY, F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

EXCA'VATINGMACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentedreb. 18,1913.

Application led May 6, 1912. Serial No. 695,550.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CLAUDE E. NEGLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at IndianapolisfMarion county, and State of Indiana, have invented and discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Excavating-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to excavating machines and its object is to provide a device of the slack cable type in which the excavating bucket shall be held securely in engagement with the carrierlvduring the acts of excavating .and of carrying the load toward the point of dumping and shall be automatically released from. such engagement to permit the dumping thereof at the desired point.

To these ends my inventionis embodied in preferable form in the device hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In these drawings-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a slack cable system, showing my invention applied thereto; Fig. 21 is a side View inelevation on a larger scale of the bucket. and 'its .connectedpartsg Fig. 3 is a central vertical section through the bucket; Fig. 4 'is a front View in elevation of the bucket, and Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view with bottom of bucket removed.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is a track cable of the usual construction employed in slack cable systemsand which is adapted to be alternately tightened and slackened for the purpose of lowering and raising the carrier adapted to travel thereon, to which carrier is adapted to be attached an excavating bucket. The rack cable is adapted to be tightened and slackened by means of a windlass and suitable ower means controlling the same, as indicated respectively at 2 and 3. Mounted on this track cable 1 is a bucket carrier 4 provided with a pair of pulleys or wheels 5 mounted in the arm 6' of the carrier frame. This frameis provided with rear'vvertical arms 7, horizontal bottom arms 8 and forwardly projecting inclined front'arms 9 adapted to connect the upper and lower horizontal arms.

Fixed to the arms 7 areedepending bail arms 10,one"on ea'chside-"ofthe carrier; Pivoted to these bail arms'atzll 'is an excavating bucket 12 havingaf'backwardly inclined front end 13: Infront bf the arms 11 on the bucket are fix'edstoplugs `which serve to prevent or limit the swinging movement ofthe bucket relative to the' arms 10. y

Rising from the bucket at thev front end` thereof are vertical arms I4, joinedby a cross bar 15. Adapted to engage this cross b'ar is a latch member 16' pivoted o n the front arm 9 of the carrier and 'having a depending hook arm 17 having at' its lower end a hook which is adaptedto engage the under side of the transverse bar 115 for the purpose of holdin the forward end of the bucket elevated, av ter the bucket has taken a load and is being carried along the track i cable to the point of dumping. The latch member is provided 'on theupper side-ofV its vpivot `with an* upwardly projecting trip arm 18 which arm is divided so as to'have projections 19, which embrace thel track caf ble and are adapted to'- extend slightly above' the same and closely adjacent thereto.

Fixed to :the trackcable 1, adjacent to the point of dumping is a trip block '20,l with vwhich the projections 19 of-'the latch are adapted to engage when the c'arriei` and bucket are moved up to thepoint where the load is to'be dumped. f y

A load pulling cable 21:is connected to and operated by asuitable windlass or other winding means under the control of an 0perator and at its outer end this loadccable connects by two branch lines toeither-.side

of the bucket 13, said branch members being" connected to the bucket near the lower front edge of the latter. The load cable also connects to the bucket by means of a branch cable 22 which runs over a sheave orpulley 23 pivoted on the front arm 9 of the carrier,

The operation of the device is asfollows To load the bucket, the load cableV is slackeued, permittingthej carrier and bucket to roll by gravlty down the track'cable to the 'excavating point and then the track cable l is slackened, lowering the bucket into contact with the soil to be excavated. The latch member is drawn Vup into engagement with the latch bar of the bucket after the latter has been dumped by tightening the load cable which through the branch cable 22 lifts the bucket into position to engage the hook of the latch. The wei ht of the hooked end of the latch is made sucient to keep the hook. pressed constantly toward the latchI vbar lso that when the bucket is moved upwardly the automatic engagement of the latch and barwill be effected. -As the bucket strikes the surface of the bed, the transverse bars .15 and 24 will serve as stops to vlimit the downward movement of horizontal longitudinal arms 8 of the carrier fi'ame'wvhich arefor this purpose prolonged at their forward ends beyond the,sa`id transverse bars. This arrangement` serves to tend to prevent either 4the bucket or carrier from tipping over sidewise, which result is' further insured by the laterally unyielding engagement between 'the carrier and bucket afforded bythe bail arms 10. As the bucket settles to place it is pulled4 alongI the trackcable bv means of power.applied to the loadcable, Athe front. edge of the bucket cut-tin into the bed of material'and the bucket ing thus filled. When the vbucket 'is filled the track cable is tightened, which action raises the carrier and bucket and thereupon pulling power being applied to the load cable, the carrier will be pulled toward the point of discharge.

. while thestops in front of the arms 10 preventa rocking motion with either the hook or the pivot pinv 1l, as the pivot of each movement, such as wouldtend to release the latch bar from the hook. The latch thus cooperates with the branch cable 22 in this action and by'their conjoint use an effective bucket holding device is provided, that is adaptable for a single track cable, avoids the use of elongated bars or levers connected to the load cable for obtaining suiiicient leverage to hold the bucket up which necessitate an increasef'in the amount of clearance required when the bucket is dumped, and the arrangement *specified also obviates the use of complicated and expensive chain connections for the above purpose. As the divided arm of the latch member strikes against the trip block 20, the latch will be automatically tripped so as to release the front end of the bucket from the carrier,\\'hereupon the bucket will tip forward in its pivot ll, dumping the lo: d. s .the latch member engages the trip 20, the operator throws ott` the controlling lever ot' the winding drum of the load `cableand this action slackens the load cablel whereupon this lfnuckffl' will dump its load instantly and without retardation by the load cable and the carrier will then return by gravity to the excavating point for another operation. y

The substantially rectangular carrier frame depending below the track cable and having the integral front arm zor arms on which the latch is pivoted, 'particularly adapts the device fqr use in connectioniwith a sing-le track cable, `'while the vertically di. vided construction' ofthe frame permits of the convenient ,mounting and' central positioning of the latch and the pulley 22.

Itis clearv that ehangesvin the details of construction of some of the features'of the' device may be made without departing from the scope of my invention. l

Having thus described my invention,- what I claim is,

1. In anexeavating machine, thecombination with a track cable of a carrier mounted thereon, au e\'cavatin; r bucket pivoted to said carrier near its rear end, a rigid load supporting latch member pivoted ou the carrier and operable to engage the bucketat its front end, and manually controlled flexible means having support by the carrier and operable to lift the bucket into engagement with said latch member, substantially 'as described. l t

2. In an excavating machine, them-combination with a ltrack cable of a carrier mounted thereon, an excavating bucket pivotally connected to said carrier, a rigid load Vsupporting latch member' pivoted on said carrier, means at the front end of the bucket'to engage said latch member,-a manuallyA controlledv load cable connected to said bucket and having a branch thereof supported from said carrier and operable to lift the bucket into engagement with the latch member, substantially as described.; l

3. In an excavating machine, the combination witha track cable of a carrier mounted thereon, an excavating bucket pivoted near'its rear end to said carrier, a rigid load supporting latch member pivoted to said carrier, means near the vfront end of the bucket to engage said latch member, a load cable havingr branches at its end, one of said branches being connected to the lower part of the bucket and the other branch havingr support from the carrier and connected to said bucket and operable to lift the bucket.

into engagement with the latch member and stop means at the rearof the bucket operable to prevent rocking of the bucket relative to the carrier, .substantially as described.

4. ln an excavating machine, the combination with a track cable of a carrier, an excavating bucket, rigid arms depending below said carriervto which said bucket is pivoted, means associated with said arms to limit the rocking movement of the bucket, a rigid load-supporting latch member pivoted on said carrier and adapted to engage said bucket at t-he front end thereof and a manually controlled load cable having support by the carrier and engagement with the bucket at the front end thereof, substantially as described.

5. In an excavating machine, the combination With a track cable of an excavating bucket, a wheeled carrier mounted on said cable and having all of its track engaging wheels in alinement, said carrier having a rigid frame portion below said cable, rigid depending bail arms connected to said frame portion to which said bucket is pivoted, stop means limiting in one direction the rocking movement of the bucket on said arms, a rigid latch member pivotcd on the carrier, means on the bucket to engage said latch member, and a flexible manually controlled bucket lifting member operable to lift 'the empty bucket into engagement with the latch member, substantially as described.

6. In an excavating machine, the combination with a track cable, of a carrier mounted thereon and having a rigid frame depending below thecable, an excavating bucket pivoted to said frame near the rear end of the former, a rigid load-supporting bucket-engaging latch member, a pulley on the carrier, said latch member being pivoted on the axle of said pulley, a load cable, said load cable having a branch running over said pulley and connected to said bucket near its forward end, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Indianapolis, Indiana, this first day of May, A. D. nineteen hundred and ttvelve.

CLAUDE E. NEGLEY. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

H. P. DooLrrrLE, A. C. RICE. 

